You’re in a subway station. The train approaches and you board amidst a crowd of people. You find a spot and take in your surroundings. Do you notice all of the people entranced by their tiny, hand held screens?

Believe it or not, each and every one of them is a potential customer, social follower or brand ambassador. What will you do to capture their attention?

If you have a new (or even not so new) business, considering an online marketing strategy can be an absolute brain burner—where to start? How are these strategies built? How much time and money should you be spent on blogging and content creation? What about social media and directing traffic to your site?

IT’S SO OVERWHELMING!

Ok, first…pat yourself on the back for coming to the realization that you need a strategy at all. There are endless opportunities online and the sooner you begin to connect and engage with your audience the better!

Before jumping in, it’s critical that you begin to think about the following:

1. Start with your customers!
   It’s all about them. You wouldn’t have a business without customers, after all! So, start with asking lots of questions. Whether you do this in an email, over the phone or over coffee, reach out to past and current clients, ask a few (or all!) of the following questions:

• How did they learn about your business?
• What inspired them to hire you?
• What do your clients value the most about your product or service?
• What can you be doing to set yourself apart??

2. Consider the customer experience
When a lead turns into a sale and a sale turns into a devoted consumer, what steps are you taking with the customer to reach that result? Think about your own similar purchasing process: are you likely to buy from someone you’ve never met or a business that’s helpful and reputable? Put yourself in the shoes of consumers and think of ways that you can always be adding value. The more value you add, the more small touches you make –which gives customers lots of reasons to keep you and your business top of mind.

3. Set specific and measurable goals
The more specific and focused you become, the more successful you are likely to be. If you jump in head first before knowing which metrics to pay attention to, you are going to waste a lot of time and money. Start with 3 goals — I’ll give you some examples:

1. 1. • 50 additional FB followers by the end of quarter 2
      • a 50% increase in traffic by year’s end
      • 20% increase in sales for an entry product, consultation or service.Whatever it is, be sure to focus your efforts on those metrics and implement the tools that you need to measure that data.
   3. Hint: your web developer or agency will know how to do this!

4. Revisit your branding
Before you go to the trouble of building an online strategy, check in with your brand, style guides and logotype. There’s a fighting chance that your online outreach could give your business a real boost—so let’s make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward and that your brand identity is updated in a way that resonates with your target audience, making a strong and lasting impression. Quite often, established brands need a facelift every few years to stay current and relevant. If your company has been around for a while, it doesn’t hurt to check in with a trusted designer or marketer to make sure that your mark is representing your business in the best possible light.